1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a detergent composition. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a detergent composition which has excellent detergency, foamability and foam durability and besides, which can impart sufficient anti-dandruff properties to the scalp and antipruritic and deodorizing effects to the body and skin because the composition can be mixed with a cationic bactericide stably, thereby exhibiting high bactericidal effects.
2. Description of the Related Art
For a major ingredient of many detergents, particularly hair detergents, a polyoxyethylene alkyl or alkenyl ether sulfate ester salt has been used conventionally as an anionic surfactant because it can impart excellent detergency and foaming power to the detergent. Besides, a number of detergents having bactericidal effects have been studied and those containing, as a bactericide, a cationic bactericide are known. The addition of such a cationic bactericide to a detergent which contains, as a major ingredient, an anionic surfactant, however, forms a complex therebetween and causes difficulty in the incorporation, thereby disturbing the sufficient exhibition of the bactericidal effects.
For the prevention of such lowering in the activity, it is the common practice to coat the cationic bactericide with a polymeric nonionic surfactant or pH sensitive polymer or to add the cationic bactericide in a great excess. But, the former method lowers the activity of the cationic bactericide, while the latter method using an excess amount is not preferred economically.
In addition, known is a method (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 122893/1994) in which, even in an anionic surfactant, the effects of a cationic bactericide can be exhibited by the addition of a chelating agent. When a sulfate ester surfactant is used as a major ingredient for the anionic surfactant, however, the above method is accompanied with the problem that bactericidal effects cannot be exhibited fully, though depending on the kind of the bacteria because a bactericidal spectrum is limited and a wide bactericidal spectrum cannot be attained.